June 2021 NPD: Ratchet & Clank and Mario Golf set franchise records

Video games have maintained their sales momentum even as summer began in earnest in the United States, according to industry-tracking firm The NPD Group. As more people turned to games during the pandemic, many of them are sticking with that hobby, even as they return to other activities as well.

“June 2021 consumer spending across video game hardware, content, and accessories grew 5% when compared to a year ago, totaling $4.9 billion,” NPD analyst Mat Piscatella said.

Here’s the full breakdown for the NPD’s June 2021 results for the U.S. video game business:

While hardware had the biggest jump, it is impressive that game content and accessories were so close to their inflated numbers from June 2020. That suggests that many new or lapsed fans continue to embrace gaming.

For 2021 as a whole, the industry is looking even stronger.

“First half 2021 consumer spending reached $28.9 billion, a 15% increase when compared to the same period in 2020,” said Piscatella.

Here are the results for 2021 year-to-date:

Let’s get to the software chart.

June 2021 NPD: The top 20 best-selling games of the month in the United States

NPD tracks physical sales at retailers, but it also gets digital data directly from publishers. Not every company participates. For example, Nintendo doesn’t share its first-party sales, and Activision Blizzard does not provide its Battle.net sales.

Piscatella has some more to say about the performance of some new games and some returning hits, but I also want to point out Scarlet Nexus. That game debuted at No. 5. And it was No. 6 on both the Xbox and PlayStation charts. That suggests that anime-style games are building an audience across all platforms.

Also (as my GamesBeat Decides co-host Mike Minotti loves to point out), Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is unstoppable. The game is once again back in the top 10, and it’s likely still a popular option for consumers who pick up a game with their new PlayStation 5.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Unsurprisingly, the new and excellent Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is June’s best-selling game. But it also set a new record for the series, and it wasn’t all because of the increased $70 price.

“It achieved the highest launch-month dollar sales of any title in franchise history,” said Piscatella. “Launch month dollar sales of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart more than doubled those of the previous high set by Ratchet & Clank in April 2016.”

Mario Golf: Super Rush

Nintendo had seven games on the top 20 for June, and the new Mario Golf helped contribute to that total. It also set a series record.

“Mario Golf: Super Rush launched as the third best-selling game of June 2021,” said Piscatella. “Launch month dollar sales of Mario Golf: Super Rush were the highest ever achieved by a Mario Golf game. The previous high was set by Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, which launched for the Nintendo GameCube in July 2003.

Fan favorites return to the top 20

While Spider-Man continues to cling to the top 10, other games managed to grind their way back into the top 20. That includes Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2.

“Tony Hawk jumped from No. 51 in May to rank 17th on the June best-selling titles chart,” said Piscatella. “The Switch version of the game was released in the U.S. during the month, accounting for most of the gains.”

And Sea of Thieves saw a similar resurrection thanks to some new content as well as the increased attention from streamers.

“The June release of the A Pirate’s Life content update helped push Sea of Thieves up from 36th a month ago back into the top 20 best-seller’s chart,” said Piscatella. “Sea of Thieves originally launched in March 2018.”

Top 10 best-selling games so far this year

Top 10 best-selling games of the last 12 months

June 2021 NPD: Top 10 best-selling Nintendo games in the U.S.

May 2021 NPD: Top 10 best-selling PlayStation-platform games in the U.S.

May 2021 NPD: Top 10 best-selling Xbox-platform games in the U.S.